Borough Market evictions leave sour taste among food traders

Ructions over rival markets leave stallholders at popular London destination feeling under threat

A vegetable stall at Borough Market, the specialist food market in south London, where management has caused anger by evicting seven traders. Photograph: Graeme Robertson for the Guardian Graeme Robertson/Guardian

Tensions are boiling over at one of the country's most celebrated food markets after the banishment of some traders, prompting calls for a management change.

The eviction of seven traders from London's Borough Market last month has unsettled many of the remaining 120 stallholders who sell fare such as British cheeses and meat, Kalamata olives, Italian mozzarella and thinly sliced Iberico ham.

"It has broken morale, I can't believe this is happening; everybody feels so massively under threat and we're so worried," said one stall employee, who did not want to be named for fear of retribution.

In an open letter posted on the SE1 website, where the eviction has sparked a deluge of comments, Lee Mullett, one of the market's traders, launched a tirade against the trust which was set up in the 18th century to secure the market.

Declaring that Peter Wilkinson, the chairman of the Borough trust, and his colleagues no longer had his confidence, Mullett wrote: "There is an atmosphere of fear, confusion, uncertainty and resentment among all traders in the market."

Tens of thousands of food lovers descend every weekend on the market, which traces its history back to the 13th century. Originally based at the southern side of London Bridge, its stalls occupy a network of railway viaducts near the river Thames in Southwark.

Wilkinson said the decision to evict had not been taken lightly and arose from actions in October when a number of traders also began operating at Maltby Street which, along with Bermondsey Market, have become alternatives for residents unwilling to put up with the Borough bustle.

"We were conscious that a variety of different storage and production facilities were beginning to form into something more cohesive," Wilkinson said. "The language was one of a fledgling market, which is fine. We welcome competition."

But he said implied criticism that Borough Market had become a tourist trap from some of the traders who had gone to Maltby Street showed a lack of loyalty.

"We asked them to back off," said Wilkinson. "We offer space at a discount on which we take losses. All we are asking for is reciprocity and sensible behaviour. The issue here is not competition but integrity. We want Borough Market in these tough economic times to offer people products that are unique and not available elsewhere a few steps away."

The expelled traders hit back on the SE1 website. "We believe our recent eviction can in no way be the result of a lack of commitment or loyalty to the market on our behalf," wrote Dominic Coyte of the Borough Cheese Company.

"Trading at Borough Market was our livelihood and we all worked hard and often put in considerable individual effort to make it a success. We have received nothing in writing to explain our eviction. Yet Borough Market management continues to make false allegations ... besmirching our character and questioning our loyalty and integrity."

After expelling "the Bermondsey seven", the trustees caused further waves when it asked Flour Power City to leave because it had become too large and "lacked independence". The company, in which entrepreneur Luke Johnson is a majority investor, was given four weeks to leave after having traded at the market for seven years.

"It came as a huge surprise," said Joe Tager, a director at Flour Power. "We create sustainable, hand-made products. We thought we were fulfilling the values of Borough Market, so we feel very hard done by. Overnight, we've lost 20% of our turnover and made four people redundant."

Other traders at Borough Market are bemused by the recent turn of events.

"I don't think we have the whole story here," said one trader about the Bermondsey seven, "but it was done in such an inept and weird way."

Wilkinson acknowledged the eviction decision had been poorly communicated and he would soon articulate his vision of the market's future. "We want to reconnect Borough Market to its producer, grower and artisan origins and get away from the camera-toting burger-munching tourist image," he said. "We don't want it to become another Leadenhall market."

But as Wilkinson works on the market's long-term strategy, George Nicholson, former chairman of the trustees who was responsible from 1995 to 2007 for the growth of the market, said it was time for Wilkinson to step down.

"It is painful to see a world-class market that you have spent more than a decade building up being slowly dismantled by poor management," he said. "Losing these seven traders runs against what a casual trader actually is. We should expect traders to go elsewhere and grow their own businesses. It's the nature of a casual trader. The whole idea of encouraging small producers and working with them is being lost. The present board do not seem to understand how it works and are about to lose its essence altogether."